The week at a glance ... Americas

Havana

Mission impossible: A computer game that sends virtual commandos on a mission to assassinate Fidel Castro is being mocked by the Cuban government for “trying to do what [the United States] couldn’t accomplish in 50 years.” Call of Duty: Black Ops, the seventh installment in the $3 billion Call of Duty series, is set at the height of the Cold War, hours before the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. Gamers must fight their way through the streets of Havana, locate the Cuban leader, and kill him before the invasion begins. There have been a reported 638 attempts on Castro’s life between 1959 and 2006, including plots to poison his cigars, rig an exploding seashell, and infect his scuba-diving wet suit with a lethal fungus.

La Paz, Bolivia

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Suitors vie for Bolivia’s lithium: Bolivia, whose salt flats are home to more than one-third of the world’s lithium, reached a deal with a Japanese consortium last week to begin research on industrializing the vast reserves to meet rising demand for rechargeable batteries. In recent months, the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales has entertained delegations from Russia, Iran, South Korea, and other nations seeking to gain an inside track on producing the lithium electric-car batteries of the future. Since Bolivia is unable to develop the resource on its own, and the Japanese group’s rights are not exclusive, the wooing is likely to continue. A Japanese trade official said Chinese and South Korean groups might soon be invited to conduct research.